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Online petition: Support British Residents detained at Guantanamo

Posting for the Birmingham Guantanamo Bay Campaign | 19.09.2005 14:47 | Repression | Birmingham

Detainees in Guantanamo Bay on Hunger Strike.

At least 210 detainees have been on hunger strike since 11 August in protest at their conditions. An earlier hunger strike was stopped when the US authorities promised some changes. They reneged on these promises and the detainees have resumed their protest.

Anyone familiar with the Irish hunger strikes of the 1980s will realise that these detainees are at a critical stage – it’s a matter of life and death. Please contact your MP and urge him/her to press the British government to raise the matter with the American authorities as a matter of urgency.

Detainees have now been held at Guantanamo for over three years without proper access to a due process of law. Their families are refused access and they are not even allowed proper access to their legal representatives and where that access is allowed unreasonable restrictions are placed on the lawyers concerned.

This situation needs to be resolved and proper rule of law established in places that are used as prisons by the American administraion and its allies. Britain needs to use its so-called "special relationship" with USA for its residents currently held at Guantanamo and get the USA to honour internationally accepted norms on treatment of prisoners and the rule of law.

Petition:

Since 11 August 2005 at least 210 detainees, illegally incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay, have been on hunger strike, in protest at their conditions. We the undersigned urge the British Government to raise this matter with the US authorities as a matter of urgency.
Abu Bakr, brother of Omar Deghayes, a British resident who has been detained in Guantanamo Bay for over three years, expressed his grave concern about the state of his brother’s health after four weeks on hunger strike and urges the British government to intercede with the American government before it is too late.

Sign the petition here:

 http://www.gopetition.co.uk/online/7156.html

Posting for the Birmingham Guantanamo Bay Campaign
- Homepage: http://www.end-unlawful-imprisonment.org.uk/


Comments

Hide the following 3 comments

petition- yeah that'll stop Blair :(

19.09.2005 16:40

Where to begin?

1) The American's force feed their prisoners as policy, so the statement
"Anyone familiar with the Irish hunger strikes of the 1980s will realise that these detainees are at a critical stage – it’s a matter of life and death"
is untrue. While this is of little consequence, why lie about the facts.

2) Who is being petitioned??? Blair, the master of events at Guantanamo Bay? Isn't this a bit like a rape victim petitioning her rapist to end the rape? Or the Americans, who basically treat everyone like crap, just to prove to themselves that a 'superpower' is defined by the degree to which it operates beyond the defines of civilised human behaviour?

The period leading to the last election saw some pressure fall upon Blair, that he felt it was convenient to respond to. As a result, many, many victims of Blair's torture camp were released to their respective countries. However, they represented the fully random victims- people picked up purely to make up the numbers. The ones remaining are political prisoners, although people of NO real significance.

So why are the remaining inmates staying put. Simple answer. Blair has dozens of secret prisons across the globe, where people Blair's allies care about are kept for torture and trade. However, the public ONLY notices the 'bright light', so while Guantanamo Bay still exists, the vast majority of the planet won't even be aware of this network of 'secret' prisons, or care about the horrors that happen there.

Guantanamo Bay is a distraction, pure and simple. Sorry, its more of that DISTRACTION PROPAGANDA that I keep banging on about. What normal people talk about matters, so they must be given something safe. For Blair, the dumbo British consider Guantanamo Bay to be an offense committed by the vicious Americans, so it does Blair little actual harm. A bit like the beating that the Americans get from the British over 'friendly fire".

It is true that if enough people pester Blair over one or two of the victims in Cuba, their chances of a release increases. However, with the understandable exception of the actual family and friends of the named victims, the rest of us would be far better off attacking the whole system of kidnap, torture, and murder that Blair is running across the globe. Recent reports have confirmed that kidnap victims (including the children of targets) are passing through British airports (amongst others) on a frequent basis. It is quite a thought that Blair has flown terrified screaming children over our very heads, on their way to be tortured in front of their parents.

Britain is at the forefront of destroying civilised values across this Earth, NOT the USA. It is Blair and his legal goons that have promised the monsters that work within Bush's government that all abuses committed by the Americans against international law will be defended by the UK, and promoted as appropriate and proportional whenever and wherever possible. In MAFIA terms, Blair is the Don, and the USA is his 'muscle', where the Don encourages his 'muscle' to be as violent as possible, with the promise that the Don's legal boys will deal with any police 'difficulties'.

So fine, get down on your knees before Blair, like every foolish human in history that got down on their knees to plead for the lives of their loved ones before a Bloody Tyrant. Me, I'll await that time when Blair is returned back to Hell, and what is left of the Human Race, if anything, gets to try to find the true meaning of life all over again.

twilight


This Petition Idea is Silly

19.09.2005 17:18

The first comment on the petition idea is FAR OUT and PARANOID. PM Blair is not somekind of all powerful evil mastermind of christian war mongering presiding over the globe. He will be out of power in a year or two. He will be writing his memoirs, making money, playing the guitar (badly), socializing with his mates (George, Silvio, Koffi, et al), playing away with Carol Caplin, etc, etc.

The petition thing is a waste of time. Many of the inmates of GB couldn't wait to get out of their homelands to settle in GB. They get free accommation, reasonable food, time to study the holy book, time to plan what they will do when they get out. When GB and PM Blair have left office, GB will be closed and the occupants will get back to GB where large compensation payments await. Leave them in peace.

DJ Wright

PS The GB connection is spooky!

DJ Wright


Omar Deghayes representation

19.09.2005 18:07

A group from the Save Omar [Deghayes] campaign in Brighton is travelling to London Thursday 22nd September to hand a petition into 10 Downing Street at 4 pm.

We are also gathering outside the Brighton Conference Centre on Sunday 25th September at the start of the Labour Party Conference. Our local paper The Argus is now fully behind our campaign!

Anyone who is able to support either event is welcome.

Save Omar
- Homepage: http://www.safp.org.uk


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